The CEO's Mischievous Little Bride

When most of the people around had left, Vera stretched and was about to leave.

Patrick, however, had no intention of leaving so early; his gaze remained fixed on Vera.

"Honey, why are you staring at me? Haven't you seen enough of me at home? You come out and still keep looking at me. If you keep this up, your eyes..."

As Vera was speaking, Patrick suddenly leaned in and kissed her on her lips in the cinema.

Perhaps it was because she had just eaten sweet popcorn, making her lips taste sweet.

Patrick didn't like eating sweets, but he loved Vera's sweetness.

Their lips intertwined, and Vera closed her eyes.

"The movie is over." The staff came to clean up.

Seeing them kissing, he couldn't help but remind them.

Vera's eyes suddenly opened wide. She and Patrick were caught kissing by a stranger.

She was extremely embarrassed, covering her face with her hands, not daring to face anyone.

Patrick's ears turned slightly red with embarrassment as well.

He remained composed, stood up, took Vera's hand, and left the cinema with her bag.

Vera hid behind Patrick as they left, feeling too ashamed to face anyone.

It wasn't until they got into the car that she felt more at ease.

Vera complained, "I told you not to kiss me. Why couldn't you wait until we got home?"

Patrick remembered clearly that Vera had responded to his kiss just now.

Vera, thick-skinned, said, "I responded because you bewitched me; otherwise, I wouldn't have closed my eyes."

Patrick raised an eyebrow, surprised that Vera knew what he was thinking.

Perhaps they hadn't realized that, unknowingly, Patrick could guess Vera's thoughts with just a glance.

Vera could instantly guess what Patrick was thinking without him saying a word.

They were gradually getting to know each other better.

They were like an married couple for years, yet they had just gotten married.

On the way driving back, they encountered a traffic jam, and Vera was tense.

Seeing the long line of cars, she said, "Honey, why don't you drive?"

Patrick reassured her, saying, "It's okay, you can drive. I'm right here beside you; if anything happens, I'll handle it." Vera drove cautiously.

The temperature was dropping, and winter was approaching.

Vera, wearing a dress, felt a bit cold.

While driving, she wanted to wrap her coat around her ankles. "Honey, can I turn on the heater in the car?"

Patrick glanced at Vera's legs, took off his coat, and draped it over her legs.

He then turned on the car heater.

"Give it two minutes, and the car will warm up."

Vera didn't stand on ceremony with Patrick; with his coat, still warm from his body, covering her legs, she felt much more comfortable.

"It's getting cold; don't wear dresses anymore. If your legs get frostbitten at such a young age, it'll be a lifelong issue."

Vera pouted while driving. "I just wanted to look nice when I came to pick you up. Just this once, I won't wear this again next time." "There's heating at home; you can still wear it there."

As the car warmed up, Vera felt less tense.

"Honey, there's a traffic cop ahead. I don't understand his hand signals."

Patrick reassured her. "It's okay, I'm right here."

With Patrick by her side, Vera wasn't afraid of anything.

She calmly drove past the traffic cop and headed towards their destination.

"Honey, what did you go out for this time? You were gone for so long." Vera casually chatted with Patrick.

Mentioning his recent trip, Patrick's smile faded. "I was looking for someone, but I couldn't find them."

"Then it was a wasted trip."

Patrick didn't respond. Vera didn't know; she thought he had just failed to accomplish a minor task. But for him, it was another hope dashed.

Vera drove to the front of Rustic Hearth Cafe, but she couldn't park the car properly.

Patrick got out and parked the car for her.

Vera had thought her date would be romantic and make her heart race.

However, after the whole afternoon, she realized she was just very happy.

Did she like Patrick? Without a doubt, she liked him very much.

Being with someone she liked, even driving on the road, Vera could feel the beauty of love.

After dinner, they went home.

Patrick mentioned that he would look for a good car tonight and buy Vera a luxury car. Vera didn't know much about cars; she wanted to pick any car from the garage, but Patrick felt that was too casual and insisted on buying a new one. "Then just buy whatever you want."

Vera wasn't particular.

She left the task of buying a car to Patrick and excitedly went upstairs with her suitcase to see her gift.

Patrick watched her back, smiling as he entered the house.

Vincent saw the smile on Patrick's face and thought of the lively and fiery Vera. He felt relieved that Patrick finally had a safe harbor for his heart after so much disappointment.

In the past, when he went out looking for Molly, he left full of hope and returned with dejection.

He often came home, told Vincent and Shawn the outcome, and then went back to Cherry Villa to "enjoy" his solitude.

However, this time, even though he hadn't found Mia, he didn't look dejected.

Unknowingly, Vera had warmed his heart.

Back in the bedroom, Vera quickly opened Patrick's suitcase.

She took out his clothes and sniffed them; they smelled clean and fresh.

Vera hung the clothes in the closet.

She rummaged through the suitcase.  "Where's my gift?"

She kept searching.

When Patrick returned to the bedroom, he saw Vera rummaging through the suitcase for her gift.

He asked, "Where are my clothes?"

"I hung them in the closet."

Patrick said, "Look for the gift in the clothes."

Vera got up from the floor, dropped the suitcase, and excitedly ran to the closet.

Patrick squatted down, closed the suitcase, and placed it in a corner. Then he went to the closet door to watch Vera search for her treasure. She felt his pants pockets, then checked his jacket pockets.

Finally, standing on tiptoe, she reached into the inner lining of his coat.

"Honey, I found it." Vera laughed.

She pulled out a sparkling necklace, matching the dazzling diamond flower on her wrist, as if they were a set.

Vera jumped up in excitement and ran to hug Patrick joyfully.

Patrick wrapped his arms around Vera's waist and said, "Keep looking."

"There's more?" Vera's eyes were filled with surprise.

Patrick nodded. He had prepared many surprises for Vera, for her to discover slowly.

"Vera, you keep looking. I need to talk to Shawn and Vincent about something."

Vera, her mind filled with thoughts of gifts, didn't even ask where Patrick was going or pay him any attention.

She pulled out a pair of earrings from another piece of clothing and excitedly continued her search for other gifts. Seeing her so happy, Patrick turned and left the room.

What he needed to tell them was simply that his hopes had been dashed once again.